1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to portable electronic devices, and more particularly, to systems and methods for enabling portable electronic devices to present information about a selected object.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is increasingly common for individuals to own and carry portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. Many of these devices are capable of providing fully functional computer processing incorporating cellular communication and network data communication. Examples include various Windows™ Pocket PC devices, which have an operating system created by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. Other examples include various mobile phone devices, some of which have built-in cameras, scanning devices, and other types of imaging devices. Still other portable digital devices include portable media players from Creative Media of Singapore, Samsung of South Korea, Archos, Inc. of Irvine, Calif., and Apple Computers, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Additionally, Sony of New York and Japan manufacture a portable game playing device called the Sony PSP™ (PlayStation Portable).
Increasingly, many of these portable electronic devices include means of transmitting and receiving digital data. Various communications technologies are frequently built into these devices. Examples of portable communicating devices include mobile phones which employ GSM, CDMA, W-CDMA, and FOMA technology, among other standards, to send and receive data in addition to handling voice communications. Many of the portable media devices also include transmission capabilities including Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11a, b, g and x among others), Bluetooth™, infrared, etc. to allow the user to transmit and receive digital data over relatively short distances. The Sony PSP™ device, for example, includes Wi-Fi (i.e., IEEE 802.11b) to transmit and receive digital data.
Many portable electronic devices are configured to contain various applications, which may be installed during manufacture and/or may be downloaded by the user. Examples of these applications include e-commerce applications, word processing, movie theater locating applications, games, e-mail programs, GPS navigation software, medical information, weather applications, etc. Examples of the portable electronic devices that contain both applications and imaging systems include Apple Computer's IPhone, Google's Droid, and various mobile devices from Motorola.